When it comes to water supply in the United States of America, it is tainted with lead. This has been the case from the time of its foundation, it is vital that you are aware that lead is poisonous. Lead is able to cause serious poisoning to an individual.
Lead is quite toxic to your living tissues which include; the heart, the kidneys and the nervous system. It’s able to affect the nervous system of children and cause a permanent neurological damage. The harmful effect of lead is so severe; that it’s able to cause physical and behavioral problems even in small amounts.
However there are controversies when it comes to the exact amount of lead that is able to cause serious effects to your body. As a result, it is vital that you ensure you lessen the exposure of lead in your tap water.
Sources of Lead in Tap Water
- Water leaving a treatment plant- it is important that you ensure water leaving the treatment plant is free of lead.
- Components made of lead leaches lead to your water. This is mainly seen in copper tubing, where its joint is made of lead, when the copper corrodes, lead will start to leach into your water.
- Fluxes that were used to prepare a joint for the fusion was usually fat-based or it had poisons which with time leached into your water supply.
- Soldering of 50/50 percent that is 50% lead and 50% tin. Each and every single coupling, every elbow and tee is welded with lead. With this combination, soldering and making of solid joints becomes not only possible but it’s also easy. Therefore, making you have a lot of exposure to lead.
- Faucets are another source of lead, with the old government regulations faucets could have up to a quarter a pound of lead. It is therefore important that you check with the manufacturer of the faucet or of the fixture that you intended to install in your home. This is to confirm that the lead content is minimal or zero.
